He showed why he is Ballon dOr: Luis Enrique full of admiration for Dembélé, who also delighted…

Author of a brace including a sublime goal, Ousmane Dembele led PSG to victory this Friday against Toulouse (3-1), in the opening of the 28th matchday of Ligue 1. Luis Enrique praised his striker in a press conference following the match.

The chant “And Ousmane Ballon d’Or!” echoed loudly in the Parc des Princes. The French World Cup champion scored a brace on Friday against Toulouse (3-1), securing PSG’s victory in the opening of the 28th matchday of Ligue 1. “Yesterday during the training, he was incredible in the shooting exercise, and today he showed why he is Ballon d’Or,” praised his coach Luis Enrique in the press conference.

Ousmane Dembele notably scored a superb volley in the 23rd minute. “He played 90 minutes, which is important for his physical level, it’s beautiful to see such a different player evolve,” added the Spanish coach about his player. The goalscorer himself played the card of modesty in the mixed zone: “I think I shoot ten times, only one goes in, it succeeded for me tonight. I saw the ball coming slowly towards me, I thought I had to try it and it worked.”

Luis Enrique does not want to blame Safonov

Regarding the Russian goalkeeper Matvei Safonov, who made two mistakes leading to Toulouse’s goal, Luis Enrique put it into perspective: “You have to help the players because it’s normal. A goalkeeper is like a defender, midfielder, forward, there are actions that you can miss, but I’m happy with what I saw in all positions tonight.” Lucas Chevalier, number 2 in the hierarchy, was called up by Didier Deschamps for the national team? “I was glad to see him called up, because having confidence in a goalkeeper is important,” replied the Spaniard.

Overall, five days before the first leg quarter-final against Liverpool, “we showed what kind of team we were, (…) we created a lot of chances, even if they defended very well.” “It’s important for the championship, to continue putting pressure on Lens,” Luis Enrique added.

Toulouse coach Carles Martinez Novell regretted but also acknowledged: three goals conceded “is a bit more than we deserved, but we didn’t have many scoring opportunities.” Against Paris “it’s normal to accept defending, we did well in the first half in that area, but we lacked rhythm to keep the ball,” added the coach of TFC.

Context: Ousmane Dembele’s standout performance for PSG against Toulouse and Luis Enrique’s praise for his performance.

Fact Check: Matvei Safonov made two mistakes as Toulouse’s goalkeeper, and there was discussion about the importance of supporting players and maintaining confidence in them.